The invention relates to a method and an apparatus for the packaging of flat products into trays.
The apparatus according to the present invention is preferably used in the industry of sweets (candies) and durable bakery goods (pastries). Specifically, the apparatus is used for the automatic packaging of sensitive products which may vary greatly in their measurements and shapes. These sensitive products include cakes, biscuits, cookies or chocolate products that are packed into trays with high efficiency. In a preferred embodiment, the trays consist of a more or less rigid plastic sheet or foil that is formed, particularly by being deep-drawn, into a shape that corresponds to the shape and the number of the products to be packed.
The products to be packed are received from ovens or from casting, bar-forming or coating systems whereby the products can be distributed onto the required number of conveyors and, according to the invention, supplied to the devices for inserting them into the trays. The trays are preferably supplied in the form of tray stacks, from which individual trays are denested. The products are individually and successively, one after the other, inserted into the trays. When in the trays, the products lie flat one above the other or generally standing upright one behind the other or also scaled and standing inclined one behind the other. The thus filled trays are then conveyed further and, for example, supplied to an apparatus for introducing them into an outer packaging or for wrapping them.
Intermediate buffers or storage means can be provided in the region where the products are supplied to the trays. In the case of obstacles in the following machine parts, the products can be stored or buffered carefully, for example, by laying them scaled on top of each other.